Angle measuring tool



April 14, 1953 H. D. RICHARDSON 2,534,503

ANGLE MEASURING TOOL 4 Filed Aug. 11, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 INVENTOR.Mmxrfl flaw/4 917.50

April 14, 1953- H. D. RICHARDSON 2,634,503

ANGLE MEASURING TOOL Filed Aug. 11, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 T z. ll /0 m I3 INVENTOR.

. mmvvll/fia/mma v BY E Patented Apr. 14, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE ANGLE MEASURING TOOL Harry Dunreath Richardson, Willards, Md.

Application August 11, 1949, Serial No.'109,68'0

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to an angle measuring tool, and has for one ofits objects the production of a simple and efiicient tool fordetermining the degree or angle of a stem post of a ship and alsodetermining the degree or angle of various places on a ship or in whatis referred to by builders of ships as squaring the round.

A further object of this invention is the production of a simple andefficient tool or instrument for determining the angle in degrees of apiece of work fromv a perpendicular or a horizontal plan or line.

Another object of this invention is the production of a simple andefiicient tool or instrument for use as a sight level in bricklaying,drainage, grading and carpenter work.

A still further object of this invention is the production of a tool forfacilitating the measuring of a grade, such for instance to determinethe rise in inches per foot.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appearthroughout the following specification and claim.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view illustrating the application of twotools or instruments to determine the angle or degrees of a piece ofwork with respect to a perpendicular and also a horizontal plane;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the tool or instrument;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the tool or instrument;

Figure a is a side elevational view of the tool or instrument looking atthe opposite side thereof to that shown in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view illustratingthe blade-carrying end of the tool;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the oppositeside of the tool to that shown in Figure 5;

Figure '7 is a vertical sectional view taken on line l--'i of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of one end of the tool;

Figure 9 is an end elevational View of the tool;

Figure 10 is a transverse sectional view taken on line Iil-Hl of Figure9;

Figure 11 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on line I l-l lof Figure 9;

Figure 12 is a transverse sectional view similar to Figure 11, showingthe adjustable end slide in an adjusted position;

Figure 13 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the toolillustrating the manner of ascer" taining th angle of cut or degree ofcut for a keel block;

Figure 14 is a side elevational View illustrating the use of the tool inmeasuring various degrees or angles, such as the degree of the stempost, the drop of the keel, the degree for the filler blocks, the degreeof the steering post, and the degree for the sister keel;

Figure 15 is a fragmentary top plan view of a portion of a boatconstruction, illustrating the manner of taking the degrees of the deckshear, so that both sides will be at the same degree or angle;

Figure 16 is a side elevational view of the tool used as a sight level;

Figure 17 is a side elevational view of the tool used as a gradedetermining level.

By referring to the drawings, .it will be seen that It! designates thebody of the tool or instrument which preferably is rectangular in shapehaving a longitudinally extending spirit level 'l-l located at one sideedge thereof and a transversely extending spirit level l2 located in anaperture is which is formed near one end of the body l0. Thisconstitutes a conventional mounting of spirit levels upon a conventionallevel or level determining instrument.

A level blade or angle measuring blade I4 is carried by the body In nearthe end thereof opposite to that in which the aperture 13 is formed, asshown in Figure 2, and is engaged by an anchoring screw l5. This screwI5 is slidable longitudinally of the slot l6 which extendslongitudinally of one end of the body I0 and bisects the graduatedcircle 22 set forth in the following description. .A metal bearing plateI! is secured to one face or side of the body Ill and the blade M fitsflat against the bearing plate H, as shown in Figure 7. The blade 14 isprovided with a longitudinal slot l8 which registers with the slot itformed in the body l8. The blade I4 is pro vided with an angularlyextending end It and one end of the slot [8 gradually curves into anangularly extending portion 20 within the angularly extending end I9, asshown clearly in Figures 1, 2 and 5. The opposite end of the slot I8 isprovided with an indicating pointer 21 which is in direct line with thelongitudinal central axis of the blade 14 and slot [8. A 360f'graduatedcircle 22 is formed upon the outer face of the plate I! and liesdirectly under the blade H. The center of this graduated circle 22 isdirectly in line with the longitudinal axis of the slot 16.

[6, as shown in detail in Figures 2 and 5. An

3 enlarged head 23 is carried by one end of the screw I and overhangsthe blade I4 to hold the blade I 4 in abutting relation against the faceof the bearing plate IT, as shown in Figure 7. By placing the screw I5at the end of the slot I6 nearest the plate 34, and by locating thescrew at the end of the angularly extending end IQ of the slot I8, thelongitudinal axis of the blade I4 may be ofiset in the direction of theplate 34 to one side of the screw I5 to place the body of the bladecloser to the end of the body ID of the tool I lock the screw I5 and theblade I4 in a selected position. The slot 26 is provided with oppositearc-shaped notches 29 in the edges of the slot 26 which are formed onthe same axis as the axis of the graduated circle 22 of the plate I1.These notches 29 are adapted to receive the tapered portion 28 of thenut 2'! when it is desired to anchor the screw I 5 in the exact centralposition of the graduated circle 22 and secure the blade I4 in aposition whereby the longitudinal axis of the blade I4 and the slot I8bisects the graduated.

circle 22 at its axis. The blade I4 when mounted as described here, willtake a position as shown in Figure 5, and the indicating pointer 2 I isadapted to register with the degree marks on the graduated circle 22 toindicate the angle in degrees at which the blade extends relative to thebody I0, either from a vertical or from a horizontal level position. Itshould be noted that by placing the nut 21 within the sunken box 25, thenut 2'! will be shielded against contact with foreign objects whichmight tend to loosen the nut after it has once been adjusted.

The blade I4 may be swung to the desired angle upon the screw I5 andthen locked in the desired position by means of the nut 21, and theangle of the blade I4 in degrees relative to the body I0 may bedetermined by consulting the position'o'f the indicating pointer 2| uponthe protractor or graduated circle 22, the screw of course having beenfirst anchored centrally of the axis of the circle 22 by registering thetapered portion 28 of the nut 21 with thesockets 29. The blade [4, whendesired, may be shifted longitudinally by loosening the nut 21, and thescrew I5 may be adjusted to any desired position within the length ofthe slot I6. I preferably provide a longitudinal channel 30 in one sideof the body III in abutting relation at one end with the inner end ofthe plate I! to receive the blade I4, as shown in Figure 2. A transversekeeper plate 3| is located at the opposite or far end of the channel 30under which keeper plate 3| the beveled end 32 of the blade I4 extendswhen the blade I4 is not in use. The tightened screw I4 by engaging theblade I4 will hold the blade I4 in the keeper plate engaging positionwhen the blade I4 is not in use. The end 3I of the blade I4 is providedwith a central longitudinal notch-33, as shown. This notch 33 is indirect line with the indicating -pointer- 2|, to determine the angledthe blade in degrees. A pencil mark may be made on the work to register;with the notch 33, to facilitate 4 the marking of the angle or degree ofcut on the work.

A metal end plate 34 is secured to one end of the body II] of the toolor instrument and carries a vane 35 which is slidable longitudinally ofthe plate 34 to and from an adjusted position. The vane 35 is preferablydove-tail in cross section and fits within a suitable channel 35extending longitudinally of the plate 34, which channel also isdove-tail in cross section, as shown in detail in Figures 10 to 12inclusive. The vane 35 may be selectively moved to and from an adjustedposition above and below the upper and lower edges of the instrument,such as is illustrated in dotted lines in Figures 8 and 9. The vane 35is preferably graduated in inches and suitable conventional indexregistration marks may b provided upon the face of the plate 34 tofacilitate the adjustment of the vane 35 to a selected position. Thevane 35 is provided with a sighting aperture 3'! at one end and havingconventional cross wires therein. A locking screw 38 passes transverselythrough the vane 35 and is provided with a re- 1 duced tip 39 forfitting into a socket 4D in the inner face of the channel 36 to lock thevane 35 in an encased position within the channel 36 when the vane 35 isnot in use, as shown in Figure 11. However, the vane 55 may be locked inan extended or selected adjusted position by tightening the screw 38against the inner face of the channel 36 when the vane 35 is moved tosuch a selected adjusted position where the screw 38 is not inregistration with the socket 40. See Figure 12.

A second end plate 4| is carried by the opposite end of the body IQ ofthe tool or instrument and a vane 42 constructed exactly like the vane35,. is slidably mounted and secured to the plate 4| me similar manner.The vane 42 also is provided with a sighting aperture at one end similarto the aperture 310i the vane 35, and the vane 42 also is similarlygraduated. Since the vanes 42 and 35 are constructed similarly, it isconsidered unnecessary to duplicate the illustration set forth inFigures 8 and 9. The vanes 35 and 42 may be adjusted at selectedpositions shown in Figure 16, and the instrument may be used asillustrated as a sight level for use in bricklaying, drainage, carpenterwork, grading, etc. One of the vanes may be adjusted to a selectedposition r'ied within the metal box 25 near one end and to the side ofthe slot 26. This plate 43 is detachably held in place by means ofsuitable screws. The plate 43 is adapted to be removed from the metalbox 25 and placed in the lower end of the slot 36 above, and to abut thelower end of the vane 35 which extends above the plate 43 to give theelevation of the grade, as shown in Figure 17.

The tool or instrument maybe used, as shown in Figure 1, to obtain theangle of the work W in degrees from the perpendicular plane or from thehorizontal plane, tool A in Figure 1 giving the degrees from theperpendicular plane and tool B giving the degrees from the horizontalplane. It should be understood that the tool or instrument is adaptablefor use in determining various angles in degrees, and may be usedefiiciently to facilitate the building of boats and the like. In Figures13, 14 and 15, I have illustrated diametrically a few of the many usesfor the improved tool or instrument. In Figure 13, there is shown themanner of taking the degree cut for a keel block with the tool. InFigure 2, tool 0 illustrates the manner of taking the degree for thestem post, tool D the degree of drop of the keel, tool E the degree forfiller blocks, and tool F the degree out for the steering post. Otherdegree measurements may be taken in degrees for Obtaining the degree forthe sister keel, as well as other measurements in degree, but it isconsidered that the above will be a suiiicient description so far as theuse of the tool is concerned, since it is not desired to limit the useof the tool to illustrations set forth herein. In Figure 15, however,the tool is shown as used when taking the degree of the deck shear of aboat or ship, so that both sides thereof will be uniform as to degree.

It should be understood that certain detail changes in the constructionand arrangement of parts may be employed without departing from thespirit of the invention, so long as such changes fall within the scopeof the appended claim.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A tool of the class described comprising a body, a bearing plate carriedthereby and having a graduated circle formed upon one face thereof, ablade frictionally fitting against said bearing plate, said blade havinga longitudinal slot formed therein, said body having a longitudinal slotbisecting said graduated circle, a releasable screw passing through saidslots and adapted to be placed at the center of said graduated circle topivotally and adjustably secure said blade in a central positionrelative to said graduated circle, and said blade having an indicatingpoint at one end of said slot in direct line with the longitudinal L 2'central axis of said blade for registrating with a selected graduationof said graduated circle to facilitate the accurate measuring of anangle of the blade in degrees relative to said body when said indicatingpoint registers with a selected graduation of the graduated circle, saidblade having an angularly extending end, said slot in said blade havingan angularly curved portion extending into said angularly extending end,and said screw being adapted to be extended through said angularlycurved portion of the angularly extending end of said blade and throughthe end of said slot in said body near one end of the body to locate thelongitudinal axis of said blade in ofiset lateral relation to said screwnear one end of said body of said instrument.

HARRY DUNREATH RICHARDSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 140,055 Marston June 17, 1873 143,595 Shoff Oct. 14, 1873143,942 Thornley Oct. 21, 1873 144,003 Waterbury Oct. 28, 1873 196,234Kitchin Oct. 16, 1877 527,815 schnell Oct. 23, 1894 593,608 RosenkranzNov. 16', 1897 636,191 Wright Oct. 31, 1899 847,720 Barbo Mar. 19, 19071,223,974 Helden Apr. 24, 1917 1,311,423 Shurter July 29, 1919 1,691,118Lissy Nov. 13, 1928 1,701,069 Frantz Feb. 5, 1929 1,934,096 Shimp Nov.7, 1933 2,399,303 Thomas Apr. 30, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number CountryDate 497,450 Great Britain Dec. 20, 1938

